Dangerous Blessings

My life has been filled with good things - a rich spiritual heritage, food, health care, shelter, and creature comforts more than I need, a wonderful wife, and great children. I get to go to work everyday in a profession I love. I know peace with God and, because of His grace, I am assured of eternal life in the Presence of Jesus. What more could a person desire? Sad to say - Plenty! Contentment eludes me too often.

How easily we are convinced that the good things that bless us are a reward for our goodness, that we have earned them, and even that we deserve more! Even McDonald's played to our sense of entitlement with a wildly successful advertising campaign built on the slogan - "You deserve a break today!"

It is easy to begin to believe that God owes us more and when He does not give us what we want, we start to complain, often bitterly. Ancient Israel is an example for the modern Church. After their miraculous deliverance from slavery in Egypt, God provided for their every need. Most amazingly, every morning they went out of their tents and found manna on the ground, angel food that the Lord gave them to sustain them in the wilderness. Did they appreciate it? For a few weeks, then they started to feel entitled to more. The Bible says, "The riff-raff among the people had a craving and soon they had the People of Israel whining, "Why can't we have meat? We ate fish in Egypt-and got it free!-to say nothing of the cucumbers and melons, the leeks and onions and garlic. But nothing tastes good out here; all we get is manna, manna, manna." (Numbers 11:4-6, The Message) Time and again, when God gave them something, they tired of it and wanted more.


Have you failed the gratitude test, believing that you deserve more?

Here are some suggestions for recovery of thankfulness as a way of life.
First, practice the discipline of giving, generously and sacrificially!
I am convinced that tithing (giving 10% of our earnings) is a God- directed discipline that opens our lives to greater blessings. We need to go beyond giving as a emotional response to sad stories, or because we feel pressure from a preacher. Never buy into the 'seed faith' nonsense which is self-centered, a 'give to get' scheme that prosperity teachers use to manipulate us. Disciples give of resources – time, money, love - purposefully, like an investor uses his money. We please God when we invest ourselves in worthy ministries, well run charities, and individual people that we can help onto their feet. Sacrificial giving helps us to grasp that what we have is not because we are more deserving than someone else, but because we are God-blessed.

Second, worship deeply, regularly, and from the heart!
True worship restores proper perspective. Taking a significant amount of time each day and on a special day each week to give adoration to God keeps us focused on eternal matters! Worship teaches us to listen more intently to His instructions. Worship is not about ME, but about Him; not about getting anything, but giving everything.

Third, we need to express our gratitude!
Cultivating a habit of thankfulness helps us to avoid a 'me centered' life. We keep in sight the ways that God has blessed us. We realize how much those around contribute to our well-being. Thanksgiving should not be just a day on the calendar for Christ’s followers. It should be a way of life.

Here's a word from the Word. It is an excerpt from the 'song of Moses,' which he recited for the people of Israel when he was advanced in age and near the end of his time of service. In this passage he warns them of the danger of blessings. He warned that as they ‘grew fat’ they would be tempted to forget the true Source of their blessings. I pray that these ancient words of warning will find a place in our hearts and minds today, so that we will give glory to God.

"For the people of Israel belong to the Lord; Jacob is his special possession. He found them in a desert land, in an empty, howling wasteland. He surrounded them and watched over them; he guarded them as his most precious possession. Like an eagle that rouses her chicks and hovers over her young, so he spread his wings to take them in and carried them aloft on his pinions.
The Lord alone guided them; they lived without any foreign gods. He made them ride over the highlands; he let them feast on the crops of the fields. He nourished them with honey from the cliffs, with olive oil from the hard rock. He fed them curds from the herd and milk from the flock, together with the fat of lambs and goats. He gave them choice rams and goats from Bashan, together with the choicest wheat. You drank the finest wine, made from the juice of grapes.

But Israel soon became fat and unruly; the people grew heavy, plump, and stuffed! Then they abandoned the God who had made them; they made light of the Rock of their salvation." -(Deuteronomy 32:9-15, NLT)
Happy Thanksgiving!
As God blesses you, I pray it will make you rich in good deeds, full of gratefulness, and a reason for others to say – “What a God he serves; a good, loving, and wonderful Lord.”

_______________

Thanks to God for my Redeemer,
Thanks for all Thou dost provide!
Thanks for times now but a memory,
Thanks for Jesus by my side!
Thanks for pleasant, balmy springtime,
Thanks for dark and dreary fall!
Thanks for tears by now forgotten,
Thanks for peace within my soul!


Thanks for prayers that Thou hast answered,
Thanks for what Thou dost deny!
Thanks for storms that I have weathered,
Thanks for all Thou dost supply!
Thanks for pain and thanks for pleasure,
Thanks for comfort in despair!
Thanks for grace that none can measure,
Thanks for love beyond compare!


Thanks To God For My Redeemer

Storm, August Ludvig / Hultman, John A.
© Public Domain

I deserve better

One of America’s great struggles over the next five years will be with government’s so-called ‘entitlement’ programs. With spending out of control and mountains of debt threatening to break our national economy, courageous politicians will have to make hard choices about raising the age of when a person can take a Social Security pension, about spending on education and health care, and about how much we will support various special interest groups. There will be much hand-wringing and screaming!

Entitlement is not just a government thing, either. I do not like to admit it, but there are moments when I allow myself to feel entitled! Thoughts form around this idea - “I’m a good guy. They owe me.” Isn’t that ugly? It sure is. When I fall into that dark hole, the results are not good, with depression and anger soon to follow. Why? Because, in that moment, life becomes a very small bundle of ME. Gratitude becomes impossible.


Entitlement is really ugly when it enters our relationship with God. When we begin to love Self so much that we allow ourselves to say or think, “He owes me,” things have gone seriously awry. He is God, I am not. I owe Him my life and love, for "who has given Him so much that he needs to pay it back? For everything comes from Him and exists by His power and is intended for His glory. All glory to Him forever! Amen." (Romans 11:35-37, NLT) Cultivating a true attitude of gratitude lays a foundation for faith and worship. Consistently offering thanks to God, not in a perfunctory way, but from the heart, breaks the mesmerizing hold of Self. This births a new humility in which we willingly trust and obey the Lord.

From the opening pages of Scripture, disobedience was fed by the root of ‘me-ism,’ the insistence that Self must be served above all things - the welfare of others and even God Himself.

• Eve sinned because she wanted to indulge her desire.
• Moses sinned when he allowed himself to be fed up with serving the ever-demanding Israelites.
• David sinned when he thought he just had to have Bathsheba, and his lust fed an escalating series of sins that led to proxy murder!
• God, through the prophets, sharply rebuked those who fed Self by oppressing the poor and the weak. "Here it is, bluntly spoken: Because you run roughshod over the poor and take the bread right out of their mouths, You’re never going to move into the luxury homes you have built ... You bully right-living people, taking bribes right and left and kicking the poor when they’re down. Justice is a lost cause. Evil is epidemic. Decent people throw up their hands. Protest and rebuke are useless, a waste of breath. " (Amos 5:11-13, The Message)

This Thanksgiving, will you choose gratitude?

Perhaps you are in a hard place; struggling to make it in our tough economy, dealing with disappointment in a broken relationship, or facing a crisis in your body’s health. It might be that as you see things right now, life is not fair. Choose to thank God for His goodness anyway. Tear down the throne of Self, and invite Christ to be Lord of your life, even your very attitudes. The Bible calls this a "sacrifice of praise to God,” and urges us to offer this sacrifice “continually, ... the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name." (Hebrews 13:15, KJV)

God will not bless those who think of themselves as entitled! But, to the humble, who are full of gratitude, He shows abundant mercies.
_________________

Give thanks
With a grateful heart,
Give thanks to the Holy One;
Give thanks because He's given
Jesus Christ, His Son.

And now let the weak say,
"I am strong."
Let the poor say,
"I am rich"
Because of what
The Lord has done for us.
And now let the weak say,
"I am strong."
Let the poor say,
"I am rich"
Because of what
The Lord has done for us.
Give thanks.

Give Thanks
Smith, Henry
© 1978 Integrity's Hosanna! Music (c/o Integrity Music, Inc.)
CCLI License No. 810055

Not quite dead . . .

Last week, headlines of reports implied that “marriage is dying in America.” Well, not quite. Despite the best efforts to convince us otherwise, most Americans still believe in the institution as a man and woman and the they hold onto the ideal of life-long commitment. Many things around the house have changed. In just 50 years, women have reached a place of making nearly as much money as men, and are surpassing men in gaining formal education. This has led to redefined roles within households. Men are much more likely to take a more active role in child care and household chores. Still, 2/3rds of Americans say that the number one qualification for male marriage readiness is ‘being able to provide for his family.’

Marriage has come under severe attack in recent decades. Jim Daly, President of Focus on the Family, observes “even the most casual observer or critic of marriage would acknowledge that the institution is too often held in very low cultural esteem. From television to movies to music, the bonds of matrimony are often lampooned as chains that bind and confine as opposed to the great anchor of stability God intended them to be.” (Christianity Today, Nov. 2010) As a pastor, I find that many times even Christians adopt this line of thinking. They allow the dysfunctional relationships that they see causing so much pain to define their perception of marriage instead of extolling the joys that a long-term, stable, loving marriage brings. The Bible tells that we should "Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery." (Hebrews 13:4, NLT)

Before He brought government into being, before there were social organizations, God made man and woman to be one. The family is His plan. Marriage is a laboratory in which the Lord brings us to maturity in character and spiritual development. If we unwilling to do the work of loving our spouse wholly and without reserve, we will not love our God well, either. If we are self-serving, petty, or incapable of reaching for real intimacy (more than sex!) with our spouse; we will almost assuredly be deficient in our love of the Lord, too. "It’s the person who loves brother and sister (We can add, spouse, here, can’t we?) who dwells in God’s light." (1 John 2:10-11, The Message)

The American family is experiencing terrific stress at the present. Changing roles and expectations, cultural ideals about personal happiness, lives that separate partners for days at a time, and less support from extended family are but a few of those stressors. A misunderstanding of the purpose and meaning of marriage causes many to choose their partner unwisely, as well. Sexual attractiveness is a poor substitute for emotional and spiritual compatibility. But, since marriage is of God’s design, we can pray for the Spirit to help us to stand up to these stresses wisely. We make even need to make radical decisions about the ways we live in order to preserve our homes.

Disciple, are you married?
Are you tending your marriage, serving and loving your partner in a way that honors the Lord?
Are you working to grow stronger together adapting to the new demands of each season of life?
Not only does a strong marriage bring joy and health to the husband and wife who share in it, it also blesses and strengthens the world of which they are part.

Here’s the word from the Word. Though it is familiar, invite the Holy Spirit to make it soul food for you today.

"Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.

For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. And we are members of his body.

As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband." (Ephesians 5:21-33, NLT)